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Green Arrow (2016)
Green Arrow, Vol. 5: Hard-Traveling Hero
DC Universe Rebirth continues with this fresh take on GREEN ARROW from horror novelist Benjamin Percy!
Benjamin Percy's critically acclaimed run on the Emerald Archer has all lead to this in GREEN ARROW VOL. 5!
They killed Oliver Queen. They made an outlaw of Green Arrow. Now the Ninth Circle will gather its forces to destroy the hero's very soul. Buildings will topple. Innocents will starve. Disease will spread. And Seattle will die. The biggest Green Arrow story ever is here!
Author Benjamin Percy is joined by acclaimed illustrator Juan Ferreyra (NEW SUICIDE SQUAD) in GREEN ARROW VOL. 5: HARD-TRAVELING HERO, the biggest storyline of the Rebirth series to date! Collects GREEN ARROW #26-31.
Benjamin Percy's critically acclaimed run on the Emerald Archer has all lead to this in GREEN ARROW VOL. 5!
They killed Oliver Queen. They made an outlaw of Green Arrow. Now the Ninth Circle will gather its forces to destroy the hero's very soul. Buildings will topple. Innocents will starve. Disease will spread. And Seattle will die. The biggest Green Arrow story ever is here!
Author Benjamin Percy is joined by acclaimed illustrator Juan Ferreyra (NEW SUICIDE SQUAD) in GREEN ARROW VOL. 5: HARD-TRAVELING HERO, the biggest storyline of the Rebirth series to date! Collects GREEN ARROW #26-31.
144 pages, Paperback
First published May 8, 2018
4 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Percy
791 books1,202 followersBenjamin Percy is the author of seven novels -- most recently The Sky Vault (William Morrow) -- three short fiction collections, and a book of essays, Thrill Me, that is widely taught in creative writing classrooms. He writes Wolverine, X-Force, and Ghost Rider for Marvel Comics. His fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire (where he is a contributing editor), GQ, Time, Men's Journal, Outside, the Wall Street Journal, Tin House, and the Paris Review. His honors include an NEA fellowship, the Whiting Writer's Award, the Plimpton Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, the iHeart Radio Award for Best Scripted Podcast, and inclusion in Best American Short Stories and Best American Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
May 8, 2022
This is one of the greatest arcs ever and one of my favorite stories of all time ahh I love it!
It picks up with Ollie going on a cross-country trip and teaming up with different members of the JL and like with flash fighting some speed force anomalies and discovering their connections to black hole and then with Diana in washington and I love their dynamic and the way she uses lasso on him Lol and then going to Metropolis and then saving the life of Lex was awesome and kind of earned him a point infront of Clark and then finally going to Gotham and saving the life of people there from the underground men and teaming with Bruce and discovering how court of Owls might be involved in it too..
Its an epic in the making already and when space travel calls Ollie's best friend HAL JORDAN comes in and I remember reading it at the time and loved it considering they are two of my fav heroes ever and then them coming together to fight against this threat and the way the whole thing ends in heroism and them sort of making Ollie the member of the JL in a different way and leading right into the metal event was awesome!
I love the whole thing, its action packed and like one of the best stories I have read and the art is beautiful and gorgeous and just amazing!! <3!
It picks up with Ollie going on a cross-country trip and teaming up with different members of the JL and like with flash fighting some speed force anomalies and discovering their connections to black hole and then with Diana in washington and I love their dynamic and the way she uses lasso on him Lol and then going to Metropolis and then saving the life of Lex was awesome and kind of earned him a point infront of Clark and then finally going to Gotham and saving the life of people there from the underground men and teaming with Bruce and discovering how court of Owls might be involved in it too..
Its an epic in the making already and when space travel calls Ollie's best friend HAL JORDAN comes in and I remember reading it at the time and loved it considering they are two of my fav heroes ever and then them coming together to fight against this threat and the way the whole thing ends in heroism and them sort of making Ollie the member of the JL in a different way and leading right into the metal event was awesome!
I love the whole thing, its action packed and like one of the best stories I have read and the art is beautiful and gorgeous and just amazing!! <3!
June 23, 2018
Green Arrow goes on a road trip meeting up with the various members of the Justice League while trying to stop the Ninth Circle from getting a foothold in each of their cities. The Ninth Circle is still something of a ridiculous group of villains with overtly complicated plans on Ollie's end and very simple plans (selling people into slavery) and Black Canary and Red Arrow's end. Each of the teamup just touch the surface and probably would have been better if they had each been stretched to two issues. I did like that Ollie is realizing he's an a-hole and somewhat making amends.
Stephen Byrne, Otto Schmidt, and Juan Ferreya all provide top-notch art even doing the coloring themselves. They do a great job of giving the book a consistent look and may be the best overall art team DC currently has deployed on one of these bimonthly books.
Stephen Byrne, Otto Schmidt, and Juan Ferreya all provide top-notch art even doing the coloring themselves. They do a great job of giving the book a consistent look and may be the best overall art team DC currently has deployed on one of these bimonthly books.
August 25, 2019
There's not really much to write here. Green arrow is losing its charm as we venture into a big mission for Oliver but honestly it's just an excuse to have him and all the big DC characters team up with him. From Wonder Woman to Flash to Supes, it all feels kind of generic. The highlight would be Hal and Green Arrow or Even Batman and Green Arrow, but the rest are just okay. The art when good is great, when not, it's bad. A middle of the road volume with a 3 out of 5.
December 30, 2017
Slight detour in quality (3.5) but still soooooo fun.
World: The art was good, it started pretty rough but got progressively better until Otto picked up the book again and was back to it's gorgeous self. The world building is big this time around, this is a road trip it a lot of places are visited. Though it's fairly surface deep in nature it's still fun to travel to all those places and at least see some key landmarks in the DCU. The pieces of the DCU that Percy does use in terms of cameos is good also but with some slightly janky off character moments which made the interactions with the JL members not as smooth and cool as it should be. The Ninth Circle stuff is cool but the 1 city 1 issue nature made the world a bit fractured. It was fun and good, just not great.
Story: The story moves fast, very fast at the expense of pacing and story structure. I like roadtrip stories and this is it. It was very fun for a story and that's the best thing from this series so far, it may not make sense sometimes and it can't get pretty heavy handed with it's agenda, and the tech and the resolution can be pretty stupid (sending out love instead of fear...please...) but it is FUN and FUN goes a long way for this series. I loved seeing to many people and the idea of a cameo per book is great and the finale with the resolution and the JL chair and all that was good, the dealing with Ollie growing and accepting he is a jerk was a bit heavy handed but also sincere in it's way. It was flawed but it was FUN. The Canary/Emi stuff was the same with the emotions being great, the art being great and just being FUN.
Characters: Ollie is still a sanctimonious jerk but that's what's also endearing about him. Sure it was a bit heavy handed this arc but that doesn't mean the message this book sometimes uses Ollie to convey is not something to discuss, we should not brush away the things Ollie says cause it's Ollie saying it. His relationships with the JL members was also fun and interesting (though not always accurate). The relationship he has with Barry seems very off but then I remember that this New52 Ollie and Barry haven't had time to actually be friends yet (just like Ollie and Canary) but the banter was a bit off. Wonder Woman was also a bit off with the punch first attitude which did not suit her. Batman was also a bit off but still quite good, are you sense a trend? Yes the characters are a bit off making this not as awesome as it could be, it's still pretty fun but not as awesome as it could be! I love Canary and Emi and their own interaction, that I love a lot.
At the end it was fun but not perfect but as I said, the fun really makes up for a lot of issues with this series and arc.
Onward to the next book!
*read individual issues*
World: The art was good, it started pretty rough but got progressively better until Otto picked up the book again and was back to it's gorgeous self. The world building is big this time around, this is a road trip it a lot of places are visited. Though it's fairly surface deep in nature it's still fun to travel to all those places and at least see some key landmarks in the DCU. The pieces of the DCU that Percy does use in terms of cameos is good also but with some slightly janky off character moments which made the interactions with the JL members not as smooth and cool as it should be. The Ninth Circle stuff is cool but the 1 city 1 issue nature made the world a bit fractured. It was fun and good, just not great.
Story: The story moves fast, very fast at the expense of pacing and story structure. I like roadtrip stories and this is it. It was very fun for a story and that's the best thing from this series so far, it may not make sense sometimes and it can't get pretty heavy handed with it's agenda, and the tech and the resolution can be pretty stupid (sending out love instead of fear...please...) but it is FUN and FUN goes a long way for this series. I loved seeing to many people and the idea of a cameo per book is great and the finale with the resolution and the JL chair and all that was good, the dealing with Ollie growing and accepting he is a jerk was a bit heavy handed but also sincere in it's way. It was flawed but it was FUN. The Canary/Emi stuff was the same with the emotions being great, the art being great and just being FUN.
Characters: Ollie is still a sanctimonious jerk but that's what's also endearing about him. Sure it was a bit heavy handed this arc but that doesn't mean the message this book sometimes uses Ollie to convey is not something to discuss, we should not brush away the things Ollie says cause it's Ollie saying it. His relationships with the JL members was also fun and interesting (though not always accurate). The relationship he has with Barry seems very off but then I remember that this New52 Ollie and Barry haven't had time to actually be friends yet (just like Ollie and Canary) but the banter was a bit off. Wonder Woman was also a bit off with the punch first attitude which did not suit her. Batman was also a bit off but still quite good, are you sense a trend? Yes the characters are a bit off making this not as awesome as it could be, it's still pretty fun but not as awesome as it could be! I love Canary and Emi and their own interaction, that I love a lot.
At the end it was fun but not perfect but as I said, the fun really makes up for a lot of issues with this series and arc.
Onward to the next book!
*read individual issues*
June 27, 2018
2,5*
Probably the best volume so far but still missing writing skills from Ben Percy. Ain't there a "How to write a comic book for dummies" someone at DC could lend him?
We follow GA across America- and even further up- on the trail of the Ninth Circle. Along the road he'll find The Flash, WW, Supe, Batsy and Hal Jordan of course.
The plot gets more interesting, some interactions are pretty cool-GA/Luthor, GA/Hal Jordan- and Percy even manages to tie his plot with Batman's turf through the Court of Owls.
On the other hand Percy still jackhammers his political views so bluntly and naively it becomes patheticaĺly ridiculous. And as I've already said I totally lean the same way he does!
The pacing of the story doesn't improve one bit. Some issues go way too fast and conclude too abruptly, notably the first one with the Flash. Figures... Black Canary's subplot back in Seattle systematically feels randomly included.
Once again Percy conveniently forgets the consequences of what he triggered earlier. The obvious example being the issue with Luthor. What of Lexcorp's employees?
Suspension of disbelief is still a concept Percy hasn't grasped. The space station issue is so over the top it's laughable.
Four different artists illustrate the book. Schmidt remains above the lot, Ferreyra still isn't my cuppa but he has some nice storytelling ideas, I already forgot the other twos.
Green Arrow is a decent if not amazing script that desperately needs a writer to translate it into comic book form.
Probably the best volume so far but still missing writing skills from Ben Percy. Ain't there a "How to write a comic book for dummies" someone at DC could lend him?
We follow GA across America- and even further up- on the trail of the Ninth Circle. Along the road he'll find The Flash, WW, Supe, Batsy and Hal Jordan of course.
The plot gets more interesting, some interactions are pretty cool-GA/Luthor, GA/Hal Jordan- and Percy even manages to tie his plot with Batman's turf through the Court of Owls.
On the other hand Percy still jackhammers his political views so bluntly and naively it becomes patheticaĺly ridiculous. And as I've already said I totally lean the same way he does!
The pacing of the story doesn't improve one bit. Some issues go way too fast and conclude too abruptly, notably the first one with the Flash. Figures... Black Canary's subplot back in Seattle systematically feels randomly included.
Once again Percy conveniently forgets the consequences of what he triggered earlier. The obvious example being the issue with Luthor. What of Lexcorp's employees?
Suspension of disbelief is still a concept Percy hasn't grasped. The space station issue is so over the top it's laughable.
Four different artists illustrate the book. Schmidt remains above the lot, Ferreyra still isn't my cuppa but he has some nice storytelling ideas, I already forgot the other twos.
Green Arrow is a decent if not amazing script that desperately needs a writer to translate it into comic book form.
February 29, 2020
Snažil jsem se na tom hledat pozitiva, ale je to strašně pitomý.
January 2, 2022
Green Arrow Vol. 5 Hard-Traveling Hero collects issues 26-31 of the DC Comic series written by Benjamin Percy with art by Otto Schmidt and Juan Ferreyra.
Green Arrow travels across the country, and enlisting Justice League members along the way, trying to stop the Ninth Circle from spreading it's ideology to other cities.
Some of these issues don't make much sense or are a little hokey, but they are really fun. Schmidt and Ferreyra's art has really grown on me throughout the series.
Green Arrow travels across the country, and enlisting Justice League members along the way, trying to stop the Ninth Circle from spreading it's ideology to other cities.
Some of these issues don't make much sense or are a little hokey, but they are really fun. Schmidt and Ferreyra's art has really grown on me throughout the series.
May 18, 2023
5 🌟
Nice to see Oliver with various members of the Justice League.
Nice to see Oliver with various members of the Justice League.
January 7, 2019
The death knell has sounded - issue after issue of guest-star team-ups is a sure sign of impending cancellation.
May 23, 2018
HEYOOOO! Road Trip Hoe ™ Ollie Queen is back in action. And he’s teaming up with everyone on the JL.
“I don’t do teamwork!” Ollie says grumpily as he effectively teams up with Barry, Diana, Lex, Clark, Bruce and Hal.
Plus Emi and Dinah have a lot of great moments together, and that’s 100% what I’m about. A bit filler, but still a solid 3.5 stars — that said, I will happily round up to 4!
My one complaint: no Dinah/Ollie reunion! Guess I’ll have to wait for the next one.
“I don’t do teamwork!” Ollie says grumpily as he effectively teams up with Barry, Diana, Lex, Clark, Bruce and Hal.
Plus Emi and Dinah have a lot of great moments together, and that’s 100% what I’m about. A bit filler, but still a solid 3.5 stars — that said, I will happily round up to 4!
My one complaint: no Dinah/Ollie reunion! Guess I’ll have to wait for the next one.
July 29, 2022
Wow, this was, by far, the best volume of this run.
We got Oliver on the road, after getting bailed of his trial, trying to tie some knots to the Ninth Circle operations throughout America. But, in every issue of it, he got help from a member of the actual Justice League (at least, in this Rebirth arc).
As Brad Meltzer and Phil Hester did on their amazing Green Arrow, Vol. 3: The Archer's Quest, Ollie is in another road trip through America (and space), meeting all this heroes and villains, with great action and amazing dialogues, as every member of the League are trying to understand what Oliver did and how he's changed.
Nice writing by Percy, but, again, the high point of this volume is the art and the Colors. A big shoutout to the second issue of this book, with an beautiful art by Jamal Campbell. Jesus, his Diana is simply amazing.
We got Oliver on the road, after getting bailed of his trial, trying to tie some knots to the Ninth Circle operations throughout America. But, in every issue of it, he got help from a member of the actual Justice League (at least, in this Rebirth arc).
As Brad Meltzer and Phil Hester did on their amazing Green Arrow, Vol. 3: The Archer's Quest, Ollie is in another road trip through America (and space), meeting all this heroes and villains, with great action and amazing dialogues, as every member of the League are trying to understand what Oliver did and how he's changed.
Nice writing by Percy, but, again, the high point of this volume is the art and the Colors. A big shoutout to the second issue of this book, with an beautiful art by Jamal Campbell. Jesus, his Diana is simply amazing.
October 31, 2018
Ollie travels around the globe and space meeting up with various members of the Justice League. Really still enjoying this. Percy has hooked me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2019
This one moved back in the cartoonish style of the New 52 run. Yuck. Story is still strong. Some characterization issues with the JL.
June 11, 2018
The six-issues in this volume are a set of team-ups with the individual Justice League members as Ollie works his way through the Ninth Circle to – I’m not actually sure about this – their final overthrow; though it might just be another setback for them. The last couple of panels appear to be a lead in to the upcoming “Metal” event, so we may be picking up at a later volume.
The artwork was the first thing that struck me when I opened the volume at the front, as it looked like the sort of animated cartoon style that DC uses for its kids chapter books (and animated cartoons). However, all four artists on this book, with their varying styles, all used variations of the animated look, and all the stories flowed together without feeling disjointed, and the animated style actually suited the iconic superheroes who populated the story. This was one of these situations where the cartoony style suited the story.
The dialogue was still a bit clunky in places – something that too many ‘proper’ writers suffer from, especially when they come to comics: read it out loud before you sent it in, and you’ll soon see if it works or not. Don’t they teach you that at comic-book writing school? I worked that out for myself when I was still a teenager when I started to suspect comics were not as well-written as I had thought when I was younger.
The artwork was the first thing that struck me when I opened the volume at the front, as it looked like the sort of animated cartoon style that DC uses for its kids chapter books (and animated cartoons). However, all four artists on this book, with their varying styles, all used variations of the animated look, and all the stories flowed together without feeling disjointed, and the animated style actually suited the iconic superheroes who populated the story. This was one of these situations where the cartoony style suited the story.
The dialogue was still a bit clunky in places – something that too many ‘proper’ writers suffer from, especially when they come to comics: read it out loud before you sent it in, and you’ll soon see if it works or not. Don’t they teach you that at comic-book writing school? I worked that out for myself when I was still a teenager when I started to suspect comics were not as well-written as I had thought when I was younger.
May 13, 2019
Once upon a time, Green Lantern and Green Arrow were joined together by Dennis O’Neil for the "Hard-Traveling Heroes" arc, where they toured America, championed the common man, and fought against real problems like racism and drugs. It made the heroes shockingly political and shockingly realistic and was a ground-breaking storyline.
Forty years later, Benjamin Percy repeats the idea with a twist by having Ollie tour the US to deal with his Ninth Circle problem, teaming up with a different member of the Justice League every issue. The storyline has little of the depth of the original, but it still touches upon some real issues, primarily the increasing plutocratization of our country. And, the ties to the Justice League are pretty decent, really highlighting each of those characters in meaningful ways. The Lex Luthor and Superman issue is the best, but Wonder Woman also does a great job of highlighting her character, and Green Lantern reveals that Ollie and Hal's long friendship somehow still exists. (There's also a Flash story which is all about fighting nameless villains and a somewhat forgettable Batman issue.)
So, overall one of the stronger Percy volumes, even if it doesn't hold up to its obvious progenitor.
Forty years later, Benjamin Percy repeats the idea with a twist by having Ollie tour the US to deal with his Ninth Circle problem, teaming up with a different member of the Justice League every issue. The storyline has little of the depth of the original, but it still touches upon some real issues, primarily the increasing plutocratization of our country. And, the ties to the Justice League are pretty decent, really highlighting each of those characters in meaningful ways. The Lex Luthor and Superman issue is the best, but Wonder Woman also does a great job of highlighting her character, and Green Lantern reveals that Ollie and Hal's long friendship somehow still exists. (There's also a Flash story which is all about fighting nameless villains and a somewhat forgettable Batman issue.)
So, overall one of the stronger Percy volumes, even if it doesn't hold up to its obvious progenitor.
June 6, 2019
I don't normally write reviews but, wow, I had to say something about this book. This is the Green Arrow book I've been waiting for since Benjamin Percy took over and kicked Green Arrow into shape. Not only is it a big pay off for a lot of what has been building since DC Rebirth began, we finally revist where Green Arrow sits in the wider DC universe and his relationship with other heroes and it is spot on. This whole book was tremendous amounts of fun an excitement without losing its political awareness of left wing edge. Percy gets what makes Green Arrow a unique character and his work on this run is as good as the GA greats like Smith and Grell.
I loved this book from beginning to end.
I loved this book from beginning to end.
February 12, 2022
This was probably my favorite volume of the Green Arrow Rebirth series so far. It's a throwback to the old Hard Travelin Heroes storyline from the old Green Lantern/Green Arrow series, and we see Green Arrow traveling all over the country and teaming up with various Justice League members including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and, of course, Green Lantern.
This serves as an ending to the Ninth Circle storyline (at least it appears to) before leading into the next storyline.
This was good, and reminded me how cool Green Arrow can be.
This serves as an ending to the Ninth Circle storyline (at least it appears to) before leading into the next storyline.
This was good, and reminded me how cool Green Arrow can be.
March 29, 2018
Read as single issues. This was a definite "filler" kind of detour from the story, but I accept it because I got to see Hal and Ollie team up again.
November 3, 2018
more like a 3.5.....but not quite...lol
April 28, 2018
A story arc that doesn't really move the main story forward. Instead, it's focused on Oliver Queen's relationship with Justice League. Thanks to the previous takes on Green Arrow, everybody in Justice League consider Green Arrow to be a jerk. In this volume Benjamin Percy begins his crusade with a goal to save Oliver as both a hero and inspiring character. Ollie should get the Justice League's trust back, while Benjamin Percy wants us to fall in love with the character again. Obviously, it works. Green Arrow is exciting like it wasn't for quite some time now.
April 28, 2018
[Read as single issues]
In the penultimate story of Ben Percy's Green Arrow epic, Oliver has left Star City behind after his failure to stop the Ninth Circle (and his mother) from taking the place over. Now he's on a cross-country trip to stop as many Ninth Circle takeovers as he can; but from Gotham to Metropolis and even into outer space, Green Arrow's about to learn that he may fight best alone, but that doesn't mean that the other heroes are about to let him.
I've never read the original Hard-Travelling Heroes stuff with Hal and Ollie battling drugs and stuff, so I can't comment on how well or badly this portrays the same themes. I know that lasted a lot longer than these five or so issues though, so there's that to consider. Ever since the New 52, Green Arrow has been distanced from the Justice League and his other friends, so Percy takes it upon himself to expand on the relationships that Ollie has with each of them while interweaving them nicely into the story that he wants to tell.
There are some fun set pieces here, with the Lex Luthor issue being especially clever, and it's always fun to see Hal and Ollie together. Hal and Barry aren't quite as familiar as you'd think they should be, but that's easily explained given the updated continuity. It all culminates in an issue that brings everyone back for one last hurrah as Ollie heads back to Star City, so all of the doom & gloom is justified.
What's not doom and gloom-y is the artwork. From Otto Schmidt to Stephen Byrne, from Juan Ferreyra to Jamal Campbell, Green Arrow is a gorgeous book with bright, attractive artwork and insanely dynamic layouts (especially in Ferreyra's case). Even if there are any weaknesses in the script, and this story doesn't have many, the artwork more than makes up for them.
Green Arrow takes the long way round to realise that sometimes calling for back-up isn't such a bad thing, but the journey is well worth going on with him.
In the penultimate story of Ben Percy's Green Arrow epic, Oliver has left Star City behind after his failure to stop the Ninth Circle (and his mother) from taking the place over. Now he's on a cross-country trip to stop as many Ninth Circle takeovers as he can; but from Gotham to Metropolis and even into outer space, Green Arrow's about to learn that he may fight best alone, but that doesn't mean that the other heroes are about to let him.
I've never read the original Hard-Travelling Heroes stuff with Hal and Ollie battling drugs and stuff, so I can't comment on how well or badly this portrays the same themes. I know that lasted a lot longer than these five or so issues though, so there's that to consider. Ever since the New 52, Green Arrow has been distanced from the Justice League and his other friends, so Percy takes it upon himself to expand on the relationships that Ollie has with each of them while interweaving them nicely into the story that he wants to tell.
There are some fun set pieces here, with the Lex Luthor issue being especially clever, and it's always fun to see Hal and Ollie together. Hal and Barry aren't quite as familiar as you'd think they should be, but that's easily explained given the updated continuity. It all culminates in an issue that brings everyone back for one last hurrah as Ollie heads back to Star City, so all of the doom & gloom is justified.
What's not doom and gloom-y is the artwork. From Otto Schmidt to Stephen Byrne, from Juan Ferreyra to Jamal Campbell, Green Arrow is a gorgeous book with bright, attractive artwork and insanely dynamic layouts (especially in Ferreyra's case). Even if there are any weaknesses in the script, and this story doesn't have many, the artwork more than makes up for them.
Green Arrow takes the long way round to realise that sometimes calling for back-up isn't such a bad thing, but the journey is well worth going on with him.
June 17, 2019
I find Green Arrow under Benjamin Percy such a joy to read. His Oliver is a loudmouth with a heart, frequently getting put in his place, yet pushing forward in his altruism. This book focuses on relationships with members of the Justice League, and although in the current universe I'm not entirely sure how GA met the League and got rejected by them, or how he met individual heroes like Green Lantern, it's nice all the same.
The Ninth Circle story is still interesting, and seeing Lex Luthor drawn into the shenanigans was great. Percy keeps up the subplot with Emi and Black Canary, showing us how these two are taking the fight to the underworld while Ollie is off racing across the country.
Usual great art by Freyera and Schmidt.
The Ninth Circle story is still interesting, and seeing Lex Luthor drawn into the shenanigans was great. Percy keeps up the subplot with Emi and Black Canary, showing us how these two are taking the fight to the underworld while Ollie is off racing across the country.
Usual great art by Freyera and Schmidt.
October 22, 2017
Rise of Star City is the culmination of the series so far, as everything that Percy has introduced, every character, every plot point (except for Diggle, but we'll get to that) culminates in this volume. Was it successful? Let's find out.
The story starts with Olie finding a secret museum under his father's grave, while reminiscing about their relationship. At the same time, a group of assassins and villains, destroy various properties around Seattle. Cheshire brings down 3 planes, Eddie Fyers unleashes a ton of poisonous bugs and insects in various hotels, restaurants and stores, Danny Brickwell destroys a building and Nate blackmails various senators to lift legislation off of pretty much all the safety network Seattle has in construction, environmental protection, business protection and taxes. All this is part of the Ninth Circle's plan to rebuild Star City on top of the lay lines that go under Seattle and usher into a new judgement day.
If all that sounds convoluted... it's because it is. It also might sound familiar to those of you who have played the TellTale version of Batman; it's a very similar premise. Olie finds out his father had been a member of the Ninth Circle; in fact, his ancestor created it and the entire Queen clan was responsible for making it what it is. It's a pretty big revelation, and I thought it was handled well. There was a real sense of loss for Oliver; loss of identity, of hope and of allies. Two extremely powerful moments were the aftermath of Henry's kidnapping and Olie's subsequent fight with Eddie, as well as the destruction of the Space Needle.
Now for things I didn't like. First off, with the amount of destruction that occurs within the span of 24 h, where the hell is the Justice League? I mean it, parts of Seattle are decimated. How is no one else aware of this? Then we have Olie and Dinah's fight (again). I don't understand Dinah's motivation AT ALL. She thinks that of Oliver regains his company back, he will somehow become a fascist? Huh? I am 100% on his side in this, I don't understand the leap of logic that is required for someone to think that Olie regaining control of the company that has been sawing chaos everywhere for the past 20 issues and making it NOT do that is fascist. Does Dinah not realize how much more effective they could be as fighters if they had capital, influence and control than as a ragtag gang of vigilantes who live in a goddamn tree house? And I'm sorry but Dinah has no right to tell anyone not to seek out their literal birthright. This fight was on par with the fight between Wanda and Pietro on sheer stupidity.
Next, Dinah's whole jealousy with the reporter. You are the one who stormed off, you are the one who refuses to acknowledge that you and Olie are dating, you are the one who constantly demands to be alone and that you don't need anyone. You don't get to be jealous or suspicious of others for wanting to help THEIR OWN FUCKING CITY just because they might have a crush on a guy that you constantly reject and shut down. I was glad Olie at least for once stood his ground and refused to cave in; he is actually right in this argument. I honestly have no idea what Dinah is like in her solo series, but if she's anything like what she is here... God Rebirth did her wrong. Very wrong.
We have Roy and Emi interacting which was entertaining. I expected them to clash heads a bit more, but it was refreshing to see two characters not fighting with each other over nothing for a change.
As for the ending... it was stupid. I don't get it. Why would the police arrest Olie. He was presumed dead, why would they arrest him? I can sort of get why maybe the people would think he was maybe responsible for the destruction but even that is far fetched tbh.
Honestly, this volume was a mess. Parts were really good; all the parts were Olie was on his own, discovering his father's past and confronting Cyrus were great. I even liked Roy and Emi's little detour. But all the rest... it was rushed, sloppy and not up to par with the rest of the series. This is where the tone problems really become apparent. Percy wants this to be a fun adventure series, but at the same time he also wants it to be serious social commentary, and you just can't really do both, or at least not like this.
The story starts with Olie finding a secret museum under his father's grave, while reminiscing about their relationship. At the same time, a group of assassins and villains, destroy various properties around Seattle. Cheshire brings down 3 planes, Eddie Fyers unleashes a ton of poisonous bugs and insects in various hotels, restaurants and stores, Danny Brickwell destroys a building and Nate blackmails various senators to lift legislation off of pretty much all the safety network Seattle has in construction, environmental protection, business protection and taxes. All this is part of the Ninth Circle's plan to rebuild Star City on top of the lay lines that go under Seattle and usher into a new judgement day.
If all that sounds convoluted... it's because it is. It also might sound familiar to those of you who have played the TellTale version of Batman; it's a very similar premise. Olie finds out his father had been a member of the Ninth Circle; in fact, his ancestor created it and the entire Queen clan was responsible for making it what it is. It's a pretty big revelation, and I thought it was handled well. There was a real sense of loss for Oliver; loss of identity, of hope and of allies. Two extremely powerful moments were the aftermath of Henry's kidnapping and Olie's subsequent fight with Eddie, as well as the destruction of the Space Needle.
Now for things I didn't like. First off, with the amount of destruction that occurs within the span of 24 h, where the hell is the Justice League? I mean it, parts of Seattle are decimated. How is no one else aware of this? Then we have Olie and Dinah's fight (again). I don't understand Dinah's motivation AT ALL. She thinks that of Oliver regains his company back, he will somehow become a fascist? Huh? I am 100% on his side in this, I don't understand the leap of logic that is required for someone to think that Olie regaining control of the company that has been sawing chaos everywhere for the past 20 issues and making it NOT do that is fascist. Does Dinah not realize how much more effective they could be as fighters if they had capital, influence and control than as a ragtag gang of vigilantes who live in a goddamn tree house? And I'm sorry but Dinah has no right to tell anyone not to seek out their literal birthright. This fight was on par with the fight between Wanda and Pietro on sheer stupidity.
Next, Dinah's whole jealousy with the reporter. You are the one who stormed off, you are the one who refuses to acknowledge that you and Olie are dating, you are the one who constantly demands to be alone and that you don't need anyone. You don't get to be jealous or suspicious of others for wanting to help THEIR OWN FUCKING CITY just because they might have a crush on a guy that you constantly reject and shut down. I was glad Olie at least for once stood his ground and refused to cave in; he is actually right in this argument. I honestly have no idea what Dinah is like in her solo series, but if she's anything like what she is here... God Rebirth did her wrong. Very wrong.
We have Roy and Emi interacting which was entertaining. I expected them to clash heads a bit more, but it was refreshing to see two characters not fighting with each other over nothing for a change.
As for the ending... it was stupid. I don't get it. Why would the police arrest Olie. He was presumed dead, why would they arrest him? I can sort of get why maybe the people would think he was maybe responsible for the destruction but even that is far fetched tbh.
Honestly, this volume was a mess. Parts were really good; all the parts were Olie was on his own, discovering his father's past and confronting Cyrus were great. I even liked Roy and Emi's little detour. But all the rest... it was rushed, sloppy and not up to par with the rest of the series. This is where the tone problems really become apparent. Percy wants this to be a fun adventure series, but at the same time he also wants it to be serious social commentary, and you just can't really do both, or at least not like this.
August 20, 2024
Gdybym miał dać pięć gwiazdek jakiejś odsłonie tej wersji Green Arrowa, tak temu tytułowi nie było do tego daleko. Ba, seria wypuszczona jakiś czas temu przez Egmont to najlepsze co mogło się przytrafić fanom Strzały na polskim rynku, a Percy zapisuje się złotymi zgłoskami w spuściźnie bohatera, robiąc dla marki nawet więcej niż Lemire, jakiś czas wcześniej.
Ollie opuścił swoje ukochane miasto, które zostało przemianowane na Star City, którym rządzi teraz Dziewiąty Krąg. Szkopuł w tym, że macki organizacji sięgają dużo dalej i bohater rusza w podróż, aby odciąć odnogi organizacji, zebrać sojuszników i ponownie uderzyć w serce zła. Na dodatek jest oczywiście poszukiwany.
Tam gdzieś w tle powstaje duet dwóch pań, które próbują oczyścić imię osoby, na której im zależy. Brata, w przypadku Yuriko i ukochanego, w przypadku Black Canary. Ollie zaś połączy siły to z Flashem, to z Batmanem, to z Wonder Woman, to z Supermanem czy wreszcie (aż się na serduszku ciepło robi) z Green Arrowem, gdzie dynamika relacji pomiędzy herosami jest najfajniejsza.
I całość wygląda obłędnie, czyniąc serię Green Arrow powodem dla którego należy sięgać po tę serię. Strzała jest diamentem w koronie DC Rebirth, prezentując stały, świetny poziom przez pięć poznanych przeze mnie zbiorów w serii. Ale tu też mam pewien zgrzyt, który jednak nie pozwala mi dać takiej prawilnej "piąteczki".
Mianowicie historia trąci nieco schematem, niejako odhaczając z listy poszczególnych członków Ligi Sprawiedliwości, z którymi Queen łączy siły. Nie ma tu miejsca na zaskoczenie, a finał jest przewidywalny. Na szczęście nie to stanowi siłę tego tytułu, a interakcje pomiędzy postaciami. A tu Ollie udowadnia, że dojrzał jako bohater i jest znów godzien stanąć w szeregu z najlepszymi herosami tego świata. A ja chce więcej. 4.5/5. Świetna lektura.
* W Polsce ten tom znajduje się w zbiorze pod tytułem Green Arrow tom 5: Konstelacja Strachu.
Ollie opuścił swoje ukochane miasto, które zostało przemianowane na Star City, którym rządzi teraz Dziewiąty Krąg. Szkopuł w tym, że macki organizacji sięgają dużo dalej i bohater rusza w podróż, aby odciąć odnogi organizacji, zebrać sojuszników i ponownie uderzyć w serce zła. Na dodatek jest oczywiście poszukiwany.
Tam gdzieś w tle powstaje duet dwóch pań, które próbują oczyścić imię osoby, na której im zależy. Brata, w przypadku Yuriko i ukochanego, w przypadku Black Canary. Ollie zaś połączy siły to z Flashem, to z Batmanem, to z Wonder Woman, to z Supermanem czy wreszcie (aż się na serduszku ciepło robi) z Green Arrowem, gdzie dynamika relacji pomiędzy herosami jest najfajniejsza.
I całość wygląda obłędnie, czyniąc serię Green Arrow powodem dla którego należy sięgać po tę serię. Strzała jest diamentem w koronie DC Rebirth, prezentując stały, świetny poziom przez pięć poznanych przeze mnie zbiorów w serii. Ale tu też mam pewien zgrzyt, który jednak nie pozwala mi dać takiej prawilnej "piąteczki".
Mianowicie historia trąci nieco schematem, niejako odhaczając z listy poszczególnych członków Ligi Sprawiedliwości, z którymi Queen łączy siły. Nie ma tu miejsca na zaskoczenie, a finał jest przewidywalny. Na szczęście nie to stanowi siłę tego tytułu, a interakcje pomiędzy postaciami. A tu Ollie udowadnia, że dojrzał jako bohater i jest znów godzien stanąć w szeregu z najlepszymi herosami tego świata. A ja chce więcej. 4.5/5. Świetna lektura.
* W Polsce ten tom znajduje się w zbiorze pod tytułem Green Arrow tom 5: Konstelacja Strachu.
August 7, 2018
Oliver Queen is still fighting the horror and the influence of the Ninth Circle. When they expand past Star City (also called Seattle) and begin to show their influence in different parts of the world, Ollie must go on the run and fight them, while Emiko and Dinah track down any leads they can to clear his name. It just so happens, Green Arrow may need the help of the Justice League...
-When they open a rift and begin collecting energy from the Speed Force in the creation of a bomb? Team up with Flash!
- When Ninth Circle plans an assassination on a Senator and hope to destroy some peace? Team up with Wonder Woman!
- When they implant some kind of a fear virus into the computers at Lexcorp, enough to make the employees begin jumping out of the building to kill themselves? Call Superman for help!
- When Gotham's rich ally with the Court of Owls and the Ninth Circle helps them prey on the weak? Where's Batman?
- When Ninth Circle is able to control and cause chaos enough to doubt the communications that we have? Call Green Lantern and go destroy that satellite!
As much as he fights and helps and never gives in.... it finally gains him the respect of the members of the Justice League and they ask him to join..... be her declines, knowing that he can't be a team player all the time. He does claim the title of "Rogue Operative" for them, and the book ends with a possible mission from Batman involving Robin.
I've been really surprised at how good this Green Arrow title has been since Rebirth. I look forward to the next Volume. Strong recommend.
-When they open a rift and begin collecting energy from the Speed Force in the creation of a bomb? Team up with Flash!
- When Ninth Circle plans an assassination on a Senator and hope to destroy some peace? Team up with Wonder Woman!
- When they implant some kind of a fear virus into the computers at Lexcorp, enough to make the employees begin jumping out of the building to kill themselves? Call Superman for help!
- When Gotham's rich ally with the Court of Owls and the Ninth Circle helps them prey on the weak? Where's Batman?
- When Ninth Circle is able to control and cause chaos enough to doubt the communications that we have? Call Green Lantern and go destroy that satellite!
As much as he fights and helps and never gives in.... it finally gains him the respect of the members of the Justice League and they ask him to join..... be her declines, knowing that he can't be a team player all the time. He does claim the title of "Rogue Operative" for them, and the book ends with a possible mission from Batman involving Robin.
I've been really surprised at how good this Green Arrow title has been since Rebirth. I look forward to the next Volume. Strong recommend.
September 23, 2018
Felt pretty good about this one. Ollie has lost everything in this series, except his bow and his friends. He's always been cranky--and a bit of a quack--but I'm a touch lost as to why he's shown as so desperate to prove himself to everybody when he's been around forever and has proven himself time and time and time again. Now, I couldn't read the New 52 version, it just didn't work for me at all, and maybe that's where it's coming from.
In any case, a humbled (reasonably humble for anybody else, thoroughly humbled for Ollie) Ollie travels across the U.S. teaming with each major member of the Justice League except Aquaman as he confronts the various manifestations of The Ninth Circle. . The story is perfect for Ollie, and feels just real enough to justify his anger at the corporate evil The Ninth Wave embodies. That righteous anger is brought into interesting relief during the argue/fight before teaming up portion of the Batman issue.
In any case, a humbled (reasonably humble for anybody else, thoroughly humbled for Ollie) Ollie travels across the U.S. teaming with each major member of the Justice League except Aquaman as he confronts the various manifestations of The Ninth Circle. . The story is perfect for Ollie, and feels just real enough to justify his anger at the corporate evil The Ninth Wave embodies. That righteous anger is brought into interesting relief during the argue/fight before teaming up portion of the Batman issue.
February 18, 2019
Ce ne è voluto di tempo, ma alla fine Benjamin Percy ce l'ha fatta. Dopo 30 e passa numeri, l'autore riesce nella sua opera di smantellamento del FV di inizio New52 (una pessima operazione di fusione fra tradizione e innovazione) e al suo posto ridona al pubblico il vecchio Oliver Queen sinistroide e socialista, mettendo in contrapposizione ogni aspetto della sua personalità facendolo confrontare con i membri della Justice League.
Penso che, tutto sommato, Percy faccia ancora un po' fatica a dare una sua voce ad Oliver Queen. Sicuramente ha più attenzione verso i comprimari, i quali ricevono le cure migliori, però questo Freccia Verde è quello che si chiedeva dai tempi nel reboot dei Nuovi 52. E ora ce l'abbiamo.
Unica pecca (ma questo è un fastidio personale): Otto Schmidt. Disegnatore di indubbia bravura, non sopporto che non riesce a firmare i disegni di più di due numeri di fila, venendo prontamente sostituito ogni 3x2. Per quanto mi riguarda, una continuità anche a livello di disegno è importante. Posso capire se i disegni cambino per esigenze narrative, ma qui vedo solo lentezza e pigrizia.
Penso che, tutto sommato, Percy faccia ancora un po' fatica a dare una sua voce ad Oliver Queen. Sicuramente ha più attenzione verso i comprimari, i quali ricevono le cure migliori, però questo Freccia Verde è quello che si chiedeva dai tempi nel reboot dei Nuovi 52. E ora ce l'abbiamo.
Unica pecca (ma questo è un fastidio personale): Otto Schmidt. Disegnatore di indubbia bravura, non sopporto che non riesce a firmare i disegni di più di due numeri di fila, venendo prontamente sostituito ogni 3x2. Per quanto mi riguarda, una continuità anche a livello di disegno è importante. Posso capire se i disegni cambino per esigenze narrative, ma qui vedo solo lentezza e pigrizia.
June 28, 2021
Ollie goes on a cross-country road trip to stop the evil banking cabal from privatizing more cities, which really just serves as an excuse to give him brief 1:1 team-ups with all of the members of the Justice League. Some of these were more fun than others (Ollie’s confrontation with Lex Luther was the surprising stand out - that, along with the comparisons with Bruce Wayne, gives us the range of how billionaires suck).
Once again, the story is heavily inflected with liberal politics (war is evil, but America is actually super good!), and once again we have someone out-run an arrow (come on, wasn’t once ridiculous enough??). But I’m general this felt like a weaker addition to the story, with a significant plot getting kind of dropped (unless it actually isn’t done, and will get picked back up on the next volume??).
The art is good, as it has been throughout the series. Despite my gripes, I have a soft spot for Benjamin Percy’s take on this character, and look forward to seeing how it ends in the next volume.
Once again, the story is heavily inflected with liberal politics (war is evil, but America is actually super good!), and once again we have someone out-run an arrow (come on, wasn’t once ridiculous enough??). But I’m general this felt like a weaker addition to the story, with a significant plot getting kind of dropped (unless it actually isn’t done, and will get picked back up on the next volume??).
The art is good, as it has been throughout the series. Despite my gripes, I have a soft spot for Benjamin Percy’s take on this character, and look forward to seeing how it ends in the next volume.
November 26, 2025
This was actually a lot better than volume 4! I think what made me like this was seeing Ollie interact with the various heroes of the Justice League. He teams up with Flash, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. All this little stories do connect to the big secret society threat, however I found them to be really charming. Ollie and Lantern were super fun, and Percy sells you on these two being old friends.
Each issue was pretty compelling story wise, and didn't feel as dull as the last volume. However, the main overarching plot is still pretty whatever in my opinion. I'm not sold on these antagonists yet, and Percy is still making them out to be pretty dull. The character writing is what really got me to love this one, and seeing Ollie go to all these cities was fun. Hopefully Percy wraps up and pay offs everything expertly when the finale happens.
Each issue was pretty compelling story wise, and didn't feel as dull as the last volume. However, the main overarching plot is still pretty whatever in my opinion. I'm not sold on these antagonists yet, and Percy is still making them out to be pretty dull. The character writing is what really got me to love this one, and seeing Ollie go to all these cities was fun. Hopefully Percy wraps up and pay offs everything expertly when the finale happens.
November 10, 2022
Percy’s run really hit its stride with Volume 4 and continues to impress with Hard Traveling Hero. Ollie finally has the chance to reappear in Star City and save the city. But of course the first thing he has to do is leave the city and work with some familiar faces.
Each issue masterfully has Ollie work with a different member of the Justice League. Ollie being his usual bit of a jerk self and cracking jokes, but with a bit more respect than usual when working with the likes of Wonder Woman and Batman. It really shows the growth he’s made as a character throughout the rebirth series.
Another excellent story to Percy’s run that had me very excited but a bit sad that there is only one more volume.
Each issue masterfully has Ollie work with a different member of the Justice League. Ollie being his usual bit of a jerk self and cracking jokes, but with a bit more respect than usual when working with the likes of Wonder Woman and Batman. It really shows the growth he’s made as a character throughout the rebirth series.
Another excellent story to Percy’s run that had me very excited but a bit sad that there is only one more volume.
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